Wendy Piercy 25 May 1943 – 20 Sept 2023
September 21, 2024 6:22 pm | by Terry Brown | Posted in Tributes
Wendy was born in Liverpool – her mother became a second world war widow at the end of the war and things were not easy for Wendy and her younger brother in their formative years.
Her Mum remarried when Wendy was 11 and, in consequence, she gained another brother.
After school Wendy went to Homerton College in Cambridge to train to become a teacher. Initially she taught maths at secondary level, then moved to primary teaching when she realised many errors at secondary level could be prevented by a solid maths foundation at primary level. Wendy spent most of her working life teaching at schools in the St. Neots area. The family remember her delight when seeing ‘Happy birthday Mrs Piercy’ on the chalk board pig outside Anderson’s butchers – a true indication of her fame and popularity in Eaton Socon.
Wendy met her future husband whilst ringing at St George’s Jesmond in Newcastle. After starting teaching Wendy married Tom, and they moved into a brand-new house in Eaton Socon, which Wendy continued to live in for nearly 60 years. Their children Andy and Caroline were born quickly after moving into Wilkinson Close. Andy and Caroline remember a happy childhood. Wendy gave them both a stable and happy upbringing. The kitchen was always a social place and there were many enjoyable family occasions with lots of delicious meals, copious wine and homemade cakes and desserts. The wider family often hoped that the meal lasted long enough for them not to have time to play Scrabble, which Wendy unfailingly won. This extended to her grandchildren, who in turn, refused their Granny as an opponent, instead opting for the Computer AI as opposition.
Wendy was always an avid reader. As a girl, she went to the library every Saturday, borrowed her allocation of books, sat on the bench outside the library, read them and took them back in to exchange for another set. However, she found another interest in bellringing which she started when she was about 12 or 13, a pastime that continued to be a big part of her life, even in the last few years when she was physically unable to take part. Wendy was the Tower Captain at Eaton Socon church for over 40 years and she spent a lot of time teaching new ringers here and further afield. Her claim to fame was that she taught Tom Griffiths to ring and was so proud of what he has achieved.
Wendy had prominent roles in the Bedfordshire Association of Church Bellringers, including being President from 2004 to 2007 and Central Council Rep from 1998 – 2001. She enjoyed ringing outings both in the UK and further afield, including one trip to Australia and one to the USA. The church, and ringing in particular, gave her many friends and much enjoyment. Her love of bell ringing has been taken up by her daughter Caroline and granddaughter Helen.
She rang 306 tower bell peals and one on handbells between 1959 and 2013. Her last was a peal of Grandsire Caters at St Neots on her 70th Birthday. She only conducted one peal, and then only after a certain amount of cajoling by a well-known St Neots ringer, Yorkshire S Royal in November 1996. She was so pleased that we scored! She was a member of the Royal Cumberland Youths and 15 of her peals were rung for them.
At a time of life when Wendy should have been enjoying her well-deserved retirement, she took on the care of her elderly parents in the annex they had built on her house. As her Dad became frailer and her Mum’s dementia worsened, this was a much tougher and more time-consuming challenge than Wendy, Eric and John (her brothers) had imagined. However, Wendy did everything she could to make their time in Eaton Socon as happy, safe and fulfilled as possible until they both passed away.
Looking after her Mum had made Wendy realise the desperate need locally for support for people living with dementia and their families, so she helped establish and run the Coffee Pot facility to give them a much-needed break and support. And of course, her excellent cake baking skills were again put to good use.
The wider family have happy memories of the fabulous holiday she arranged at a villa in Spain for her 70th birthday – and witnessed her courage and determination to get to her final family holiday in Shropshire to celebrate her 80th birthday this year. Throughout her illnesses, although she was in pain and discomfort, we never ever once heard Wendy complain or moan. She met each challenge with lots of equipment from Amazon, the support of the lovely carers from Beaumont, and the love and care of her friends and neighbours. Wendy was not a gardener but loved gardens, especially her own after Robert, her friend and gardener, took control and turned it into the little haven she was able to appreciate until the end.
As Wendy was very confident in the digital world, she was able to carry on chatting to her friends and family on FaceTime and indulging her passion for Wordle – not bad for someone of her age. She often managed to find humour in the situation and as her world shrank to the bedroom, she found pleasure in watching the birds and squirrels on her brother’s rough and ready bird table, hastily and loosely constructed from a wire basket, bamboo cane and clothes pegs.
Anyone who knew Wendy would know that she was always upbeat and would always welcome you into her home. She will be greatly missed by all her family and by everyone who knew her.
(I acknowledge help in compiling this obituary from Wendy’s Grandsons’ Funeral Eulogy and from PealBase – thanks Andrew!)
George Bonham
Wendy’s obituary was published in The Ringing World 5874, 24/11/23, p1150